Examples of Real World Negotiating Techniques
Sometimes people struggle with how to employ negotiating tactics that they read about in real world situations. The BP community has probably collectively negotiated more real estate deals than any other group in the history of time. We should share some of the techniques we've used and how things turned out so that others can learn by seeing some real world examples. I'll start.
We bought a SFR a couple months ago and I used a couple specific techniques in the negotiation. Higher authority and specific number. Here's how it went. After opening the negotiation the seller countered a number to us. When we countered I used this specific language:
"We've talked with our banker about the repairs we're going to need to make and the most we can offer is $71,800. We're buying this house as an investment and that's the best we can do. We'll take it as is. You can stop painting and any other work you're doing."
By invoking the higher authority of the banker we made it seem like it's out of our hands. Most people are constrained by what a bank is willing to lend them, so this use of a higher authority figure will be very familiar to most people.
By using a very specific offer number of $71,800 it seems like we've really done a lot of working figuring out what it's going to take to make this deal work. In reality the number was arbitrary, but within the bounds of what I was willing to accept on this deal.
The combination of these techniques leaves the impression that we've done a lot of work on getting to this point and this is it. It's a nuanced way of saying "take it or leave it" without actually using those words. The seller accepted our offer.
Now your turn. Share some examples of negotiating techniques you've used in the real world and how they turned out.